GI, interesting topic it seems these days. Had got info from my dear friend, Kok Yung who came back from Austin for a month break. Here it goes:
There has been a diet revolution going on in the US. I can share some of the things I learned from this wave of revolution. One of the "must knows" is Glycemic index (GI).
According to Gardenia's Breakthru Formula Multi-Wholegrain Bread (which you can buy from your local supermarket for RM3.90
), they explain GI as "a measure, one a scale of 0 to 100, of how quickly a food containing 50 g of carbohydrate is digested and absorbed by your body, as compared to a standard food. The standard good (GI=100) is glucose. It is an indication of blood glucose levels as a result of consuming carbohydrates. The lower the GI, the slower glucose is released into your body." (Under "Useful Info").
It is more than that. Initially, it is only useful for those who has diabetes. However, it has become an important tool to fight obesity and keep fit. Why? Because when your blood stream experiences a sudden spike in blood sugar (after eating high GI food), your body will activate to release much insulin, a hormone that would speed up the transformation of the excess blood sugar into body fat.
Thus, more calories are transformed and stored as fat rather than
used as fuel for your body. Eating lower GI food would slow down the
process of digestion and absorption of carbohydrates in our body, and
thus avoid a sudden spike of blood sugar and the rest of the reaction
chain. Ultimately, no more weight increase due to the increase of body fat.
Is all high GI food bad for you? Well, at least there is one
exception. For bodybuilders: shortly after your workout, you should
consume high GI food, such as ice-cream, to increase your insulin
level. Research shows that increasing your insulin level would slow
down the destruction of muscle cells caused by your workout (This is
different from our common understanding: we are actually constructively destroying our muscle cells during the workout, and
then the body rebuilds the cells at a faster rate than the cell
destruction, causing a total increase in lean muscle mass).
So after your workout, it's your gloden opportunity to indulge in high GI food, which is good for your body. Percaution: this consumption of high GI food is only good for strength exercises, such as weight lifting, but not for endurance exercises, such as jogging.
Here's your link to GI Table (list of food with their GI index)
for reference http://www.glycaemicindex.com/.
Happy dieting and bodybuilding!